Transportation Planning in MnDOT District 7
MnDOT created area transportation partnerships (ATPs) to emphasize greater public involvement in the preparation of transportation plans and programs. There are eight ATPs in Minnesota (one for each MnDOT District area).
The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 gave the states more flexibility in determining transportation solutions and required the development of a Statewide Transportation Improvement Program.
The Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century and the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act—A Legacy for Users continues this flexibility.
MnDOT responded by decentralizing the program decision-making process to a more regional level (i.e., the districts). The Area Transportation Partnerships were established by each district to facilitate broader input to the project selection process. ATP-7 covers the 13 counties of Blue Earth, Brown, Cottonwood, Faribault, Jackson, LeSueur, Martin, Nicollet, Nobles, Rock, Sibley, Waseca, and Watonwan.
Members of ATP-7 include:
MnDOT is responsible for staff support of the ATP-7.
| Transit | Mankato / North Mankato Area Planning Organization | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Wayne Albers, St. Peter Transit Office 507-934-0668 |
Mark Anderson, City of Mankato Heartland Express 507-387-8655 |
Seth Greenwood, Nicollet County, 507-931-1760 |
Alt. Brianna Anderson City of Eagle Lake, 507-654-0067 |
| Cities | |||
| Steve Koehler, P.E., New Ulm City Engineer 507-359-8245 |
Mike Kuhle City of Worthington 507-360-9012 |
Jeff Johnson, City of Mankato 507-387-8640 |
|
| Counties | |||
| Ryan Thilges, Blue Earth County Engineer, 507-304-4031 |
Don Wachal, Jackson County Commissioner 507-847-4182 |
Tim Stahl, Jackson County Engineer 507-847-2525 |
Jack Kolars, Nicollet County Commissioner 507-327-9987 |
| Regional Development Commission (RDC) | |||
| Matt Widboom, Southwest RDC 507-360-6632 |
Terry Genelin, Region 9 507-665-6613 |
Alt. Annette Fiedler, Southwest RDC 507-836-8547 |
Alt. Samuel Parker Region 9 507-389-8886 |
| MnDOT | |||
| Lisa Bigham, Planning Director, 507-304-6195 |
Gordon Regenscheid, Asst. District Engineer 507-304-6105 |
Greg Ous, District Engineer 507-304-6101 |
Peter Harff, Asst. District Engineer |
Each year, ATPs develop an Area Transportation Improvement Program (ATIP) to incorporate into the State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP). ATIPs, which span a minimum of four years, include all projects that seek federal aid highway, state trunk highway, and federal transit sources of funding.
To distribute the funds, a Statewide Performance Program allows Minnesota to meet performance targets on the National Highway System.
ATP-7 solicits projects for:
These projects are ranked by categories with set investment targets, and then integrated into the four-year ATIP. Project categories include:
